Task 1:

Identify a typical workplace challenge in your own organisation. Acting as a change agent, select a suitable diagnosis model to diagnose this workplace challenge and justify your choice by outlining the application of the model. From your diagnosis, develop suggestions for improvement of the challenge.

• In the Introduction of your report, briefly describe a workplace challenge in your own organisation that you will address in the report. The workplace challenge can be on organisational level, or group or team level – See Figures 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 in your study book, Module 3, p.5. This should be no more than a few sentences describing the core problem.
• No specific details about the challenge, or about the company, or names of employees are required here. If you prefer, simply refer to ‘my company’ or ‘the CEO’ or ‘Ms X’ to maintain privacy and confidentiality of your organisation.
• Use relevant diagnostic tools to investigate factors contributing to the workplace challenge. Explain why the tools that you used are appropriate for your specific workplace challenge. Clearly state your final diagnosis – outline factors that appear to be contributing to this specific workplace challenge. See Case Study 7.1 (Hayes 2018, pp.120-1) for an example. Include specific recommendations for improvement or solution of the workplace challenge.

To start with this task, first select a workplace challenge in your organisation that you can analyse in this report. On which organisational level is this challenge – is it on organisational level, group or team level, or individual level? The information presented in Figures 3.1.2, 3.1.3, and 3.1.4 provide some ideas of typical areas where the problem can be.  If, for instance, you decide on a challenge on organisational level, such as ‘organisational performance’, you need to describe what exactly the problem is.  Only stating ‘organisational performance’ as a challenge is not sufficient – you need to explain why this is a problem and how this problem affects the organisation. In bullet point 2, I mention that ‘no specific details about the challenge…are required here’ – although you have to describe the problem, you should not provide specific details such as financial statements, balanced scorecard results, sales results, and or market share details.  What we are looking for here, is simply a problem that is described so that the reader can understand why this is a problem.

For example:

This is a challenge on the group level.  The sales team experiences problems with team effectiveness: the sales team has not been able to meet their target sales quotas for the last six months. There is high levels of staff turnover in the team, and few of the newly appointed staff received formal sales coaching.

Please do not use this example in your assignment as it would not earn you any marks – you need to identify problems in your own company.

No further detail about the problem is required – simply indicate the level, then identify the problem, and explain what the problem is.

To enable you to select relevant diagnostic tools, you will have to read Section 3.1 in your Module 3 Study Book, and study Chapters 7 and 8 of Hayes (2018).  Chapter 7 provides an overview of models (diagnostic tools) as well as examples of how these models are applied.  Chapter 8 commences with a section titled ’Selecting a diagnostic model’ – this may help you to understand how to choose a model/s.

Note what Hayes says in Chapter 7 (p.127) about ‘…slavishly apply[ing] a model that ignores aspects of organizational functioning that your own experience tells you are significant’.  He suggests considering various models to ‘help you make better sense of your own experience…. Even if you decide not to adopt an alternative in its entirety, you might decide to incorporate some aspects of it into your own model’.

It is up to you to decide what model to use – your own model, a combination of models, an adapted model, or one of the component or holistic models.  This model should be applicable to the organisational problem that you identified, and include relevant aspects (and the relationship between the aspects) that are significant in diagnosing this problem.  Use your creative skills here, but make sure that you include theory to support your model and diagnosis.

Explain and apply this model to the organisational problem. Use theory to support your views. Hayes (2018) is an important source here because it provides the basis for this discussion.

Conclude this task by clearly stating your final diagnosis, based on the model that you used to analyse the organisational problem. Provide specific recommendations and/or solutions to the problem – this should also be supported by theory.

Task 2:

Based on the workplace challenge that you address in this assignment,  select a change strategy to address your diagnosis and improvement recommendations developed in

Task 1. Translate your change strategy into an implementation plan by using appropriate change tools to develop and assess change plans.

• Chapter 16 (Hayes 2018) presents an overview of various change strategies. Based on the workplace challenge that you focus on in this assignment, apply critical thinking skills in selecting a change strategy to address your diagnosis and improvement recommendations developed in Task 1.
• Apply change tools presented in Chapter 17 of Hayes (2018) to develop and assess an implementation plan to solve the workplace challenge that you diagnosed in Task 1.

Consider the range of change strategies presented in Chapter 16 of Hayes (2018) and select a change strategy that is appropriate for your diagnosis.  Explain why this strategy is appropriate, and use theory to support your arguments.  You may find it useful to research this strategy further to provide the theory support in your explanation of why this strategy is appropriate for your specific organisational problem that you diagnosed in Task 1.

To develop an implementation plan, read Module 4 Section 4.1.2 ‘Transitioning change’ for background on implementation plans.  Chapter 17 (Hayes, 2018) presents detailed information about implementation plans – use this information to guide you in developing a plan to implement the change strategy that you identified.  You are also welcome to use other theoretical approaches to implementation plans, but make sure that your reference the theory and clearly apply the theory to your specific organisational problem/diagnosis.

If you decide to include tasks that need to be incorporated in the change plan as Hayes (2018) describe, make sure that you apply the tasks to your situation.  For instance, one of the tasks that Hayes (2018) describe is ‘Identifying what needs to be done if the change is to be successful’ (p.317): make sure that you describe what needs to be done for your specific problem.  The implementation plan should provide clear direction for anyone to implement the plan to solve the organisational problem that you are addressing.

Task 3:

Focusing on leadership tasks and styles, critically discuss a suitable leadership approach and specific High Performance Management (HPM) interventions that you as change agent recommend to lead, support and improve the implementation of the change plan developed in Task 2.

• Include in your discussion key leadership tasks as well as leadership styles appropriate for leading the change that you proposed.
• Critically discuss High Performance Management (HPM) interventions that can be used to improve organisational performance through implementation of the change plan.

The last section of Module 3 (Study Book), addresses leadership styles relevant to the change process – read this for some background on the issue. Chapter 9 (Hayes, 2018) provides detailed discussions about leadership tasks and styles – this should form the basis of your critical discussion.  Chapter 22 (Hayes, 2018) provides information about high performance management interventions linked to people management practices. Use this information as basis of your discussion.

You are welcome to combine the two bullet points and present both aspects in an integrated critical discussion.  Remember what a critical discussion requires – considering the views from various authors (from journal articles).

Task 4:

Critically reflect on what you (as change agent) can do to improve your personal ability to learn from your own and others’ experiences and behaviour.

This task can be presented in two ways – you can include this in your report as a section, or you can include this as an attachment to the report.  Both options will be included in the word count.

Although you should use the information presented in Chapter 32 to guide your thinking and understanding, the focus here is on reflecting how you can apply these in your role as change agent to improve your own abilities in managing organisational change.  Remember that although you may not be a formal ‘change agent’ or leader responsible for managing change, all employees are involved in change interventions that can make an important difference in aligning an organisation with environmental changes.

Follow a practical approach when you address this task, no theory discussion is required here.  Note that this task is marked out of 16 where the other tasks are marked out of 28 each (see Rubric).  This should be reflected in your distribution of the word count over the four tasks.